Lex Luger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may be too long. Please discuss this issue on the talk page; if necessary, split the content into subarticles and keep this article in a summary style. (July 2008)

Lex Luger
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Lex Luger[1][2] The Total Package[1][2] The Narcissist[1][2]
Billed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[2]
Billed weight	265 lb (120 kg/18.9 st)[1][2]
Born	June 2, 1958 (1958-06-02) (age 50)[1][2] Buffalo, New York
Billed from	Chicago, Illinois[1] Atlanta, Georgia[2] Boca Raton, Florida
Trained by	Bob Roop[1] Hiro Matsuda[1]
Debut	September 1985[1][2]
Retired	September 18, 2006

Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958)^[1][2] best known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his work with the NWA, TNA, WCW, and the WWF. Most recently Luger has been traveling to various churches giving his testimony about his life decision and accepting Jesus Christ in his life in 2006.

He received success in NWA/WCW as a 2 time WCW World Heavyweight Champion,^[3][4] 5 time United States Heavyweight Champion,^[5][4] 2 time Television Champion,^[6][4] 2 time World Tag Team Champion,^[7][4] 1 time Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion^[8][4] and as the winner of the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament with Sting in 1988.^[9] He never won any title in the WWF but he was the co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble with Bret Hart.^[10][4]

[edit] Early life

Pfohl attended high school and played football in Orchard Park, New York. He then attended Pennsylvania State University on a football scholarship, but transferred to the Miami Hurricanes after his freshman year. After sitting out the 1978 season, he started the 1979 season at Offensive Guard until his scholarship was terminated for disciplinary reasons stemming from a hotel damage incident that occurred during an away game at Georgia Tech.

Upon leaving Miami, he played professional football for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. According to the Alouettes' website, he played one game in 1979, eleven games in 1980 and two more game in 1981. He then signed with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League, but never played in a game and thus is not listed on their all-time roster, though he did spend the entire 1982 season on the team's injured reserve list with a groin problem incurred during training camp. He returned to the Packers training camp in 1983, but he was released before the regular season began. In 1984, Pfohl finished his football career playing in the United States Football League for the Memphis Showboats, where he was listed as #72, at 6 feet 3 inches and 270 pounds. He also played for the Tampa Bay Bandits in the USFL, where he was a teammate with future WCW rival Ron Simmons.^[1]

[edit] Professional wrestling career

[edit] Training

In 1985, Pfohl met Bob Roop at a celebrity golfing event in Florida and was given the chance to get into professional wrestling. Roop arranged for Pfohl to be trained by Hiro Matsuda,^[1] who had previously trained Hulk Hogan and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. Pfohl adopted the ring name "Lex Luger", being a fan of the comic book villain Lex Luthor, and made his in-ring debut in September 1985.

[edit] NWA Florida (1985-1986)

Luger began wrestling in the NWA Florida territory, and quickly came to dominate the area. He got his first victory on October 31, 1985 against Ed "The Bull" Gantner, and won the Southern Heavyweight Championship from Wahoo McDaniel the next month.^[11] On September 1, 1986, he fought NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair for the title at a show Battle of the Belts, which resulted in a 60-minute draw. As a result, Flair retained the title.^[1]

Towards the end of his run in Florida, Luger was involved in a now-legendary steel cage match with Bruiser Brody, where Brody stopped cooperating, leading to Luger leaving the match.^[1]

[edit] National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling (First run, 1987-1992)

[edit] Four Horsemen (1987-1988)

In 1987, Luger went to work for Jim Crockett's World Championship Wrestling (WCW), which was under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner, with the nickname "The Total Package" and began using the "The Human Torture Rack", an Argentine backbreaker, as his finisher.^[2] He was first booked as an associate to Ric Flair's "Four Horsemen" stable until Ole Anderson was kicked out and he became an official member of the group.^[1] Luger started wrestling as a heel.^[2] His first big feud was with Nikita Koloff, whom he defeated for his first NWA United States Heavyweight Championship on July 11, 1987.^[2] Manager J.J. Dillon threw a chair over the top of the cage while the referee, Earl Hebner, was down. Luger knocked Koloff unconscious with it and then lifted up Koloff in the Torture Rack. A revived Hebner then dropped Koloff's arm three times with no response and awarded Luger a submission victory.^[2][12]

He held the title until NWA's first pay-per-view (PPV) event Starrcade 1987: Chi-Town Heat in November, when he dropped it to Dusty Rhodes in a steel cage. This loss set the stage for Luger leaving the Four Horsemen, as manager Dillon's interference cost Luger the match. A steel chair thrown in by Dillon was dropped by Luger and Rhodes DDT'd Luger on it prior to pinning him for the win.^[13] Luger left the Four Horsemen in 1988 after he and his stablemates (Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, and Dillon) were the sole wrestlers left in a Bunkhouse Stampede battle royal and Dillon asked the other wrestlers to give themselves up so he could win. Although Blanchard and Anderson complied, Luger refused and eliminated Dillon, leaving the Horsemen in the process.^[1]

[edit] Feuding with the Horsemen (1988-1989)

Out of the Horsemen, Luger turned babyface and befriended Barry Windham, his former Florida ally, and formed a tag team, dubbed ""The Twin Towers", with him. "The Twin Towers" first teamed on March 27, 1988 at Clash of the Champions to defeat Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship.^[14][8] Only a few weeks after the title win, a swerve took place in the NWA with Barry Windham suddenly turning on Luger during a title defense (against Blanchard and Anderson) and joined his former stable, The Four Horsemen.^[2]

Days later, the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament was held with its first night in Greenville, South Carolina. A partner-less Luger was teamed with Sting (whose partner Ronnie Garvin had been kayfabe injured) and the impromptu team won the entire tournament, defeating Blanchard and Anderson in the finals.^[15][9]

Luger began a feud with the Four Horsemen, after his partner Barry Windham had betrayed him and joined the Horsemen. He began hunting their leader Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. At the June 8 edition of Clash of the Champions, it was announced that Luger would challenge Flair for the NWA title at The Great American Bash on July 10 in Baltimore.^[2] The contract was signed on a yacht with Flair delivering the line "You gotta make it to Baltimore..." to Luger.^[2] As Luger arrived at The Clash in a limousine he was attacked by The Four Horsemen, leaving him (kayfabe) injured and bleeding in the parking lot on live television.^[2] The build up to the Flair/Luger match at The Great American Bash 1988 helped the event draw a 14,000 person crowd, only to see Luger lose the match in controversial fashion. While Luger had Flair in the "Torture Rack" and Flair was about to submit, the match was abruptly stopped by the referee who cited (kayfabe) "Maryland State Athletic Commission" rules about a cut that had opened up on Luger's forehead "bleeding excessively".^[1][16]

Luger faced Flair in many rematches across the country, never winning the title - although he did frequently win their matches by disqualification. The Luger/Flair feud came to an end after December's Starrcade 1988: True Gritt where Flair pinned Luger in a rematch main event for the NWA title by illegally using the ropes.^[17]

[edit] Longest Reigning U.S. Champion (1989-1990)

After losing to NWA Champion Flair twice and failing to win the title from Flair, Luger ended the feud with Flair. He was matched up against old foe Barry Windham at The Chi Town Rumble winning his second NWA United States Heavyweight Championship from him.^[18][19] Luger defended the U.S. Championship regularly, remaining one of the top draws in the NWA. His major title defense was against Jack Victory in a dark match on the April 2, 1989 edition of Clash of the Champions.^[20]

He teamed up with Michael P.S. Hayes against Barry and Kendall Windham in a match which saw Hayes turn on Luger, setting himself as a contender to the U.S. Title.^[21] In what was considered a shocking upset at the time, Hayes defeated Luger for the US title at WrestleWar 1989: Music City Showdown when a surprise appearance by Hayes's ex-Freebird teammate Terry Gordy helped cost Luger the match.^[2] As a groggy Hayes had Luger pinned, Luger put his foot on the ropes trying to negate the pin but Gordy removed his foot.^[2][22] Luger regained the U.S. Title from Hayes in a rematch a couple of weeks later, beginning a heel turn when he broke the rules by pulling Hayes' tights while pinning Hayes to win the match and begin his third NWA United States Heavyweight Championship reign.^[23][24] The turn became "official" shortly after, when on the June 14 edition of Clash of the Champions, Luger attacked the popular Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat after Steamboat had defeated Terry Funk by disqualification.^[25]

Luger cried out in frustration about the former world champion Steamboat continuing to be the #1 contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and a feud between the two occurred with matches around the country for Luger's U.S. Title, with Luger always coming out on top. Eventually, Luger and Steamboat faced each other at The Great American Bash 1989 in July with Luger winning by disqualification after Luger refused to wrestle Steamboat until the match's no-disqualification clause had been waived.^[26] Steamboat departed the NWA shortly afterward.

In the fall of 1989, Luger's U.S. Title began taking a back seat to the main event feuds occurring between Flair, Sting, Terry Funk, and The Great Muta, relegating Luger to defend the U.S. Title against lower caliber opponents such as Tommy Rich.^[24][27] Things picked up for Luger again as Flyin' Brian Pillman challenged him at Halloween Havoc 1989: Settling the Score. Luger won the match by pinning Pillman,^[24][28] pushing Luger back into the spotlight. He defeated Pillman in a rematch on the November 15 edition of Clash of the Champions to retain the title and end the feud.^[24][29] After the main event of the card, which saw Ric Flair and Terry Funk in a (now famous) "I Quit" match, Luger made a surprise run in, attacking both Flair and Sting, who had come out to save Flair from a post match attack by The Great Muta.^[29]

December's Starrcade 1989: Future Shock/Night of the Iron Men featured an "Ironman" tournament between Flair, Sting, Luger, and Muta. The tournament featured 15 minute time limit matches pitting all of the men against each other, with no titles on the line, and points awarded for victories. Though Sting eventually won the tournament, Luger was the only participant to go undefeated (Sting got pinfall victories over Muta and Flair, giving him the most points to win the tournament).^[30] This elevated Sting to the status of #1 contender for Flair's world title.

With Sting and Flair set to square off at WrestleWar 1990: Wild Thing in February, Luger seemed to be dwindling away from the main event scene. He was booked to defend the U.S. Title against "Dr. Death" Steve Williams on the card, but a legitimate injury to Sting caused the entire booking of the card to get changed. Luger was elevated to face Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. This marked a double turn as Flair turned heel while Luger began his second face turn. An injured Sting appeared in Luger's corner during the match, eventually being attacked by Ole and Arn Anderson. When Luger left the ring to help Sting he was counted out, giving the match to Flair.^[31] The idea here was to build Luger up as a "changed man" that had "gained self-respect" by saving Sting. Luger challenged Flair across the country in rematches, but similar to their 1988 feud, the matches always ended with Luger not winning, or winning but not earning the title. In the final match of the feud, a few months after WrestleWar, another screwjob finish occurred where Luger won by disqualification against Flair in a steel cage match when the cage rose up from the ground and outside interference marred the match.^[1]

In mid-1990, Luger's focus went back to defending his U.S. Championship while the NWA focused on Sting and his reign as World Heavyweight Champion. It became difficult coming up with opponents to feud with Luger. He continued to have successful title defenses against the likes of "Mean" Mark Callous at The Great American Bash 1990: New Revolution^[24][32] and Ric Flair on the September 5, 1990 edition of Clash of the Champions^[33] until Stan Hansen entered the company and the two of them feuded for a brief period of months, with Luger eventually dropping the title to Hansen at Halloween Havoc 1990: Terror Rules the Ring,^[34] though he won it back at Starrcade 1990: Collision Course beginning his fourth NWA United States Heavyweight Championship reign.^[35][36] Luger's third title reign lasted a total of 523 days, making him, the longest reiging WWE United States Champion in history. As of 2008 this record still stands, as it is longer than any other reign for the belt in the NWA, WCW, or WWE.^[37]

WCW withdrew from NWA in 1991 and the US title was renamed the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. Luger started a feud with Dan Spivey, whom he defeated at WrestleWar 1991: WarGames to retain the US title.^[38] Following their match, Nikita Koloff suddenly appeared to attack Luger, reigniting their feud from 1987. It didn't last long, however, as Koloff found himself being pushed into an angle with Sting instead of Luger, which began at SuperBrawl I: Return of the Rising Sun when Sting and Luger challenged the Steiner Brothers for the WCW World Tag Team Championship. During the match, Koloff interfered and hit Sting with a chain, which was intended for Luger.^[39] Luger again began to challenge Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after becoming #1 contender by defeating The Great Muta on the June 14, 1991 edition of Clash of the Champions.^[40] With the history of "screwjob finishes" between Flair and Luger, their title match was set to be contested at The Great American Bash in a Steel cage match with the added stipulation that, should Flair get disqualified he would lose the title. The match never occurred, however, as Ric Flair began to have disagreements with Jim Herd, the head of WCW, over his future and salary. He eventually quit the company (being "stripped" of the title in the process) and took the World Title belt with him.

[edit] World Champion (1991-1992)

With the WCW title now vacant, Barry Windham was declared the #2 contender and was set to face Luger in the cage match at The Great American Bash 1991. During the match, a double turn took place when Harley Race and Mr. Hughes came to ringside and "ordered" Luger to piledrive (an illegal maneuver) Windham. He did it, winning his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[41][42]

After Luger won the WCW title, he got over as champion and top heel, including a controversial racial angle with Ron Simmons where he asked Simmons to join his entourage, but as a chauffeur. Luger retained the title at Halloween Havoc 1991: Chamber of Horrors in a two out of three falls match.^[43] Eventually, Luger began to have his own issues with WCW, and the contract he had, seemed to have him wrestling less and less while still collecting money. After ending his feud with Simmons, Luger had a brief feud with Rick Steiner, defeating him on the November 19 edition of Clash of the Champions.^[44] The next month's Starrcade was booked with the BattleBowl format, with Sting winning #1 contendership at the end of the night.

Luger's contract only required him to work a specific number of dates, and having fulfilled them he "sat out" the end of 1991 and beginning of 1992. This left Sting to build the feud against him on his own. Aside from one title defense against Masahiro Chono at WCW/New Japan Supershow II (Starrcade 1992 in Tokyo Dome),^[45] Luger did not wrestle a match until SuperBrawl II, where he lost his WCW title cleanly to Sting.^[46]

[edit] World Bodybuilding Federation (1992)

After losing to Sting at SuperBrawl, Luger negotiated a departure from WCW and joined Vince McMahon's World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), appearing regularly as a co-host on its Saturday morning program, WBF BodyStars.^[47] He also made an appearance at WrestleMania VIII, taking part in an on air interview with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon.^[48] He was slated to guest pose at a WBF pay-per-view event, but was injured in a motorcycle accident.^[49] By the time he recovered, the WBF was out of business.

[edit] World Wrestling Federation (1993-1995)

[edit] The Narcissist (1993)

After his accident and the closure of the WBF, Luger joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Bobby "The Brain" Heenan began hyping a man named Narcissus, who he claimed was "beyond perfect." Heenan "unveiled" him as Lex Luger, with the slightly modified nickname of The Narcissist, at Royal Rumble 1993. A narcissistic (as the name suggested) heel, Luger posed before full-length mirrors before every match.^[50] The WWF also incorporated his motorcycle accident into his gimmick, capitalizing on the fact that he had a "metal plate" (so they say) inserted into his forearm which was said to cause more damage when it struck an opponent. This caused a number of his opponents to demand that he wear a cover over it during matches when he had a streak of knocking people out. This eventually lead to WWF officials demanding that Luger wear an elbow pad, though he would sometimes remove it.

The Narcissist's one major feud was with Mr. Perfect. The feud was based on Heenan, his advisor, referring to him as being "Beyond Perfection," in a slight at Mr. Perfect, his former managerial client. The rivalry ended at WrestleMania IX when Luger defeated Perfect.^[51] At King of the Ring 1993, Luger participated in the first-ever King of the Ring tournament on pay-per-view (it was originally a non-televised event), but was eliminated in the quarterfinals after a time limit draw with Tatanka.^[52]

[edit] The All-American (1993-1994)

In mid-1993, after Hulk Hogan's departure from the company, Luger was transformed from a heel to a "mega-face" with the nicknames "Made in the USA" and "The All-American". On July 4, he took part in a memorable event where he arrived (by a red helicopter) on the dock of the USS Intrepid and body slammed the over 500 pound (227 kg) WWF champion Yokozuna after a number of other athletes, both inside the WWF and out, attempted and failed.^[53] Following this he began the "Lex Express" tour, traveling the country in a Red, White, and Blue painted bus to greet fans and to "campaign" for a shot at the WWF Title, thus beginning a feud with the champion Yokozuna. Luger got his shot at SummerSlam 1993, with the stipulation that this would be Luger's only shot at the title. Luger, with the use of the metal plate in his forearm, eventually won the match, but the count-out victory meant that Yokozuna retained the title.^[54][55]

In late 1993, Luger began a feud with another foreigner Ludvig Borga who disliked America because of pollution. At Survivor Series 1993, Luger captained a team dubbed "All-Americans" (Lex Luger, The Undertaker, and the Steiner Brothers against Yokozuna's team "Foreign Fanatics" (Crush, Yokozuna, Ludvig Borga, and Quebecer Jacques) in a 4-on-4 Survivor Series match. Luger's team won the match after he pinned Borga.^[56][57] At Royal Rumble 1994, Luger participated in the Royal Rumble match where he and Bret Hart were declared "co-winners" of the Royal Rumble match after both men went over the top rope and had their feet hit the ground simutaneously.^[58][59] As such, both received shots at the WWF Championship at WrestleMania X. Luger was disqualified in his title match against Yokozuna,^[60] and later that night Hart went on to win the title from Yokozuna.

For the summer of 1994, Luger aligned himself with Tatanka until kayfabe rumors began to swirl that Luger was planning to join Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation.^[61] Tatanka and Luger's friendship was strained by the lack of trust between them, and a match between the two took place at SummerSlam 1994. At the event, Tatanka defeated Luger and joined the Million Dollar Corporation.^[61][62] Luger continued to feud with The Million Dollar Corporation, leading a Survivor Series team consisting of himself, Mabel, Adam Bomb, and The Smokin' Gunns, dubbed "Guts & Glory", to a loss against the Corporate team of Tatanka, King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, and The Heavenly Bodies at Survivor Series 1994 - with only King Kong Bundy and Bam Bam Bigelow surviving.^[63]

[edit] Allied Powers and departure (1995)

Main article: The Allied Powers (wrestling)

In the beginning of 1995, Luger formed a team with Davey Boy Smith, dubbed The Allied Powers^[64] and they continued to feud with the Million Dollar Corporation. They made a good impact on the tag team division and made their pay-per-view debut as a tag team at WrestleMania XI, defeating the Blu Brothers.^[65] They wrestled and defeated jobbers on Raw and earned a shot at the WWF Tag Team Championship against Owen Hart and Yokozuna at In Your House 2 but failed to win the titles.^[66] Bulldog turned against partner Diesel in a match against Men on a Mission. While Diesel fought King Mabel at Summerslam, Luger entered the ring. Diesel clotheslined him over the top rope, where he chased Sir Mo to the back. Before anything else developed, Luger left for WCW.

[edit] World Championship Wrestling (Second run, 1995-2001)

[edit] Campaign against Hogan (1995-1996)

Main articles: Dungeon of Doom and Alliance to End Hulkamania

In late August 1995, after expressing to Sting that he wanted to leave the WWF, Luger got a call from World Championship Wrestling Vice-President Eric Bischoff to set up a meeting about a contract and Luger possibly "jumping ship". Years later, Bischoff would claim that he was never a fan of Luger on a personal or professional level, and decided to hire him only to have his debut be a big shock to wrestling fans on the first episode of Nitro. He made a brief appearance during the start of a match between Sting and Ric Flair, eliciting a "Luger" chant from the crowd.

After Luger's debut, he acted as a sort of tweener character, not making his allegiances known, except for his long-time friendship with Sting. He merely claimed that he wanted to stake his claim at Hulk Hogan's WCW World Heavyweight Title, facing him on the September 11, 1995 edition of Nitro, which Hogan won by disqualification.^[67] At Halloween Havoc 1995, Luger officially turned heel, attacking Hulk Hogan after his match with The Giant and joining Kevin Sullivan's Dungeon of Doom stable who had interfered in Luger's match against Meng.^[68] After the match, Luger would continue his feud with Hogan but also feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage. The feud began at the same pay-per-view after Luger attacked Hogan and the match also occurred at that pay-per-view, where Luger ended up losing to Savage.^[68] Luger and Savage had a rematch at World War 3 1995, which Luger won.^[69] Later that night, Luger participated in the first-ever three-ring, 60-man battle royal for the vacant WCW World Title won by Savage.^[69]

Strangely enough, however, despite being a heel, he would retain his friendship with Sting. At Starrcade 1995: World Cup of Wrestling, Luger participated in a WCW vs NJPW World Cup of Wrestling where he represented WCW in a winning effort against NJPW representative Masa Chono.^[70] Later that night, he participated in a triangle match with Sting and Ric Flair; Flair won after both Sting and Luger got counted out, making Flair #1 contender to the WCW title.^[70] The two men teamed up to defeat Harlem Heat for their first WCW World Tag Team Championship on the January 22, 1996 edition of Nitro,^[7][71] with Luger constantly threatening dissent due to his allegiance to the Dungeon of Doom, but always seeming to stay on the same path as his friend. Luger would also defeat Johnny B. Badd for the WCW World Television Championship on February 17, losing it back to him the next night.^[6] However, he regained the television title from Badd by beating him on March 6, thus beginning his second WCW World Television Championship reign.^[6]

As tag champions, Luger and Sting defended the tag titles against teams such as the Blue Bloods^[72] and Road Warriors.^[73] The Dungeon of Doom aligned with the Four Horsemen to form the Alliance to End Hulkamania and feud with Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. At Uncensored 1996, 9 members from the Alliance To End Hulkamania participated in a "Tower of Doom Steel Cage match", but were unsuccessful in defeating the team of Hogan and Savage.^[74] Luger was blamed for the loss because he accidentally punched teammate Ric Flair, and was kicked out of the stable, thus turning him face again.

[edit] Face turn & War with nWo (1996-1997)

During the summer, Luger began a feud with The Giant for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, unsuccessfully challenging him at The Great American Bash 1996.^[75] During this time, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, both former WWF superstars, began appearing on WCW television and claimed they were "taking over" the company. Randy Savage spearheaded the WCW wrestlers against them, with Luger and Sting by his side. Luger, along with Savage and Sting, took on Nash and Hall (who called themselves The Outsiders) and a third, mystery, partner that they claimed was an "insider" at Bash at the Beach 1996. In the first few minutes of the match Luger went down to a kayfabe injury, leaving Sting and Savage on their own when the mystery partner revealed himself to be Hulk Hogan. With Luger no longer around, Savage and Sting were "easy prey" for the three who announced themselves as the New World Order (nWo).^[76]

Luger continued to be one of the leaders for the WCW's siege against the nWo, wrestling and feuding with a number of their members including Outsiders^[77] and The Giant.^[78] At SuperBrawl VII, Luger and The Giant defeated Outsiders to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship.^[7][79] The titles were returned to Outsiders by nWo member and WCW President Eric Bischoff. Luger won a Four Corners match to become the #1 contender for Hogan's WCW title at Spring Stampede 1997,^[80] and teamed with his new ally, The Giant, to defeat Hogan and basketball star Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach 1997.^[81] On the August 4, 1997 edition of Nitro, Luger defeated Hogan to win his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship in an impromptu match,^[82][83] before dropping the title back to Hogan just five days later at Road Wild 1997.^[84] His victory, however, marked the first time in a year that WCW had "won their world title back" from the nWo.^[85]

Luger began a program with Scott Hall after both men pinned each other in tag team matches (Luger's partner was DDP and Hall's partner was Randy Savage)^[86][87] before facing each other in a 1-on-1 match at Halloween Havoc 1997 which Luger won.^[88] He had a short feud with Buff Bagwell in the fall of 1997, culminating in a match at Starrcade 1997, which Bagwell won.^[89] In the first half of 1998, Luger feuded with Savage and defeated him at Souled Out 1998^[90] and SuperBrawl VIII.^[91] His final feud with the nWo was against Scott Steiner, whom Luger defeated at Uncensored 1998.^[92] At Spring Stampede 1998, he teamed with Scott's brother and former tag team partner Rick to defeat Scott and Buff Bagwell.^[93]

[edit] Joining nWo (1998-1999)

After a long war with the nWo, Luger finally joined nWo Wolfpac, the babyface faction of the nWo.^[94] Luger played a central role in the group's war with Hogan's original nWo (nWo Hollywood), and even convinced the long standing anti-nWo Sting to join.^[95] On the August 10, 1998 edition of Nitro, he defeated Bret Hart to win his fifth and final WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in an impromptu title match,^[96][97] before dropping the title back to Hart just one day later on Thunder.^[98] He also took part in the incident that became known as The Fingerpoke of Doom, in which both nWo factions united against the dominant Bill Goldberg in early 1999.^[99] He remained a member of the new nWo until he was sidelined with a (legitimate) biceps injury.

[edit] The Total Package (1999-2001)

In mid-1999, Luger began another heel run, now going by the stage name The Total Package (though he returned to being Lex Luger after a few months). He started off by bringing back Miss Elizabeth as his manager.^[100] Under his new moniker, he began to kayfabe break the arms of his opponents by placing the arm inside a closed steel chair and stomping on it. He wrestled guys such as Meng,^[101] Sting,^[102][103] Hulk Hogan,^[104] and Buff Bagwell.^[105][106]

Main article: Totally Buff

He had no major feud during the summer before he returned to being Lex Luger in October. He had a long feud with Goldberg^{[107][108][109]} and formed a tag team with Buff Bagwell^[110] named "Totally Buff".^[111] They defeated Goldberg and Dwayne Bruce in a tag team match at Sin.^[112] Luger stayed in the team until WWF purchased WCW.

Since Luger's WCW contract was not a part of the WWF's purchase of WCW's assets, Luger collected the remainder of his guaranteed contract through a subsidiary of Time Warner that had been set up to handle outstanding debts and business from WCW.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Semi-retirement

[edit] World Wrestling All-Stars

In late 2002, Luger joined the European tour of WWA. He debuted on November 28, 2002 in Dublin, Ireland, teaming with Sting to defeat Buff Bagwell and Malice. At Retribution, Luger defeated Sting to win the vacant WWA World Heavyweight Championship after Jeff Jarrett interfered on his behalf.^[113] In Manchester, England on December 7, Luger and Sting faced Bagwell and Jarrett in a match in which both Luger's WWA World Heavyweight Championship and Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight Championship were on the line, though neither title changed hands, as Sting pinned Bagwell.^[114] Luger made his final appearance with WWA on December 13, in Zürich, Switzerland, when he lost the WWA World Heavyweight Championship to Sting in a three way dance that also featured Malice.^[113]

[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

In late 2003 Luger began working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); he teamed with Jeff Jarrett on November 12 in a loss to Sting and A.J. Styles.^[115]

Throughout 2004 and 2005, Luger made sporadic appearances on the independent circuit.^[1] He returned to TNA in 2006, first appearing during the April 27 TNA Impact! as the second of Sting's potential tag team partners for Sacrifice.^[116] Throughout September and October, he appeared on Impact! as one of the people (along with Buff Bagwell) helping Sting to "prepare" for his upcoming match against Jarrett at Bound for Glory.^[117]

[edit] Retirement

After Sting won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Lex Luger retired from professional wrestling.

[edit] Personal life

Pfohl is divorced and has two children, a son, Brian and a daughter, Lauren.^[118][119]

[edit] Legal problems

On April 19, 2003, Pfohl was involved in a domestic dispute with his then-current live-in girlfriend, former valet 'Miss Elizabeth' Hulette, in the garage of their townhouse in Marietta, Georgia; Pfohl had allegedly struck her. Cobb County police found Elizabeth with two bruised eyes, a bump on her head, and a cut lip. Pfohl was charged with a misdemeanor count of battery and released on $2,500 bond. Two days later on April 21, Pfohl was arrested for driving under the influence after rear-ending another car while driving his Porsche. According to the report on the arrest, Pfohl had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes and could not locate his driver's license. Pfohl had a 9 mm handgun in the car. Elizabeth was a passenger in the vehicle, and was sent home in a taxicab. Pfohl was also driving with a suspended license for not appearing in court on March 5, 2003 for a hearing on a previous offence (driving with expired tags and having no proof of insurance).^[120]

On May 1, 2003, Hulette died in the townhouse they shared in Marietta, after mixing pills of hydrocodone, Alprazolam (Xanax), and anabolic steroids (testosterone and sazien) with vodka. Pfohl was arrested later that day after a search of the residence revealed a number of illicit controlled substances, including anabolic steroids, OxyContin, synthetic growth hormone, testosterone, and Alprazolam. He was charged with 14 drug possession counts, 13 of them felonies. He was released the following day on $27,500 bail. Hulette's death was eventually ruled accidental. Pfohl pled guilty to the charges on February 3, 2005. He was given a $1,000 fine, sentenced to five years probation, and required to submit to periodic drug testing.^[121]

In December 2005, Pfohl and fellow wrestlers Marcus "Buff" Bagwell and Scott Steiner were removed from a flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Canada. They were detained for several hours before Bagwell and Steiner were released, while Pfohl was held without bail as a result of two outstanding felony charges in the state of Georgia (he had neglected to obtain permission to leave the country from his parole officer). Pfohl was detained in the Hennepin County jail for two weeks before being extradited to Georgia to stand trial on December 22, 2005. Pfohl was sentenced to nine weeks imprisonment, and was released in February 2006.^[122]

[edit] Trinity Broadcasting Network appearance

On September 28, 2006, Pfohl appeared on Praise the Lord, the flagship talk program of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and declared himself a born again Christian. In an interview conducted by guest host Steve Borden, Pfohl emotionally discussed the downward turn of his career and personal life -- including the events surrounding Hulette's death -- and how it led to his religious conversion.

[edit] Present Circumstances

Pfohl credits Steve Baskin, the pastor of Western Hills Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, with pulling him from a terminal tailspin. The jail chaplain met Pfohl in early 2006 and sensed the former wrestler was spiritually bankrupt. As of July 2007, Pfohl lives in a spare bedroom in Baskin's apartment and is trying to figure out a path in life.^[123]

[edit] "Spinal Stroke"

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

On October 19, 2007, Pfohl suffered a nerve impingement in his neck that led to temporary paralysis. He was at Stanford Hospital in stable condition. He underwent intravenous antibiotic treatment and was expected to make a full recovery.^[124] Pfohl issued a statement thanking all of his fans for their continued support.^[125]

Nearly a month after his "spinal stroke", Pfohl was finally transferred from California to an Atlanta hospital. He was still in a quadriplegic state, having no movement in either his arms or legs. Pfohl was scheduled to have hip replacement surgery the week before, had it not been for the stroke. Doctors had told him that they would be amazed if he was able to walk without the surgery.^[126] Despite regaining some feeling and movement, Pfohl still remains paralyzed.^[127]

[edit] In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves

• Attitude Adjustment (Piledriver)
• Running forearm smash
• Torture Rack (Backbreaker rack)
• Hip toss
• Knee lift
• Military press slam
• Neckbreaker
• Scoop powerslam
• Scoop slam
• Shoulder block
• Superplex

• Managers

• J.J. Dillon
• Miss Elizabeth
• Ric Flair
• Jimmy Hart
• Hiro Matsuda
• Harley Race
• Bob Roop
• Kevin Sullivan

• Nicknames
  • The Total Package
  • The Narcissist (WWF)
  • Made in the USA (WWF)

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

• Championship Wrestling from Florida

• NWA Florida Bahamian Championship (1 time)^[128]
• NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[11]
• NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)(Last)^[129]

• Jim Crockett Promotions | World Championship Wrestling^[4]

• NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (4 times) (Last)^[5]
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) – with Barry Windham^[8]
• WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time) (First)^[5]1
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[3]
• WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Sting (1) and The Giant (1)^[7]
• WCW World Television Championship (2 times)^[6]
• Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament (1988) with Sting^[9]
• WCW Triple Crown Champion (First)²
• WCW Grand Slam Champion (First)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI Comeback of the Year (1993)
• PWI Feud of the Year (1987) Four Horsemen vs. Super Powers and the Road Warriors
• PWI Feud of the Year (1988, 1990) vs. Ric Flair
• PWI Match of the Year (1991) with Sting vs. the Steiner Brothers at SuperBrawl
• PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1993)
• PWI Rookie of the Year (1986)
• PWI Wrestler of the Year (1997)

• World Wrestling All-Stars

• WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[113]

• World Wrestling Federation^[4]

• Royal Rumble (1994) with Bret Hart^[10]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) with Arn Anderson, Meng, The Barbarian, Ric Flair, Kevin Sullivan, Z-Gangsta, and The Ultimate Solution vs. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, WCW Uncensored, Towers of Doom match, Tupelo, MS, March 24
• Most Improved (1989)

¹Luger's 4th NWA United States Heavyweight Championship reign carried over to World Championship Wrestling when it was renamed the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, making him the last NWA United States Champion and first–ever WCW United States Champion.
²Luger and Sting are technically tied for being the first WCW Triple Crown Champion.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Lex Luger at the Internet Movie Database